Are Teachers Who Retired Before 2008 Eligible for Gratuity? Seeking Clarity

Dear Experts,

I work as an HR for an educational institute (school) that has been running for the last 50 years. Recently, we had an employee who retired, and we paid her gratuity as per norms. Upon hearing this, we have received notices from our old retired teachers asking for gratuity. I would like to know if teachers who retired before the amendment of 2008 are eligible for gratuity. These teachers retired before the 2008 Supreme Court order to pay gratuity to teachers.

Regards

Dear friend,

I invite your kind attention to Sec. 13-A of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, which deals with the validation of payment of gratuity inserted by the Amending Act of 2009. According to this new explanatory provision, its retrospective effect commences only from 03-04-1997, the date on which the provisions of the Act were made applicable to educational institutions.

Dear UMAKANTHAN53,

Thank you for your reply. I would like to know if there is a due date to apply for gratuity after their service with the school. The teacher retired in 2003 and sent a notice for her gratuity in 2016. During the end of her tenure, she had signed a voucher stating that all payments and dues had been made regarding her service. Now, she has sent a notice via her advocate for bonus, gratuity, and leave encashment.

Thank you.

Any statutory claim for money has a normal period of limitation prescribed in the relevant Act and Rules. In exceptional circumstances, there would also be a provision to condone the delay. I think that as an HR manager, you should go through the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, and the Rules to familiarize yourself with such procedural matters. Then it would be clear to you to what extent the aspect of delay in a claim for gratuity would be applicable when the claim itself is preferred at a later date based on a retrospectively amended provision of the Act. Also, consider the effect of a self-certificate of "no further claim whatsoever nature in future" given earlier by the employee on the date of his/her full and final settlement when the Act was not applicable to his/her employment.